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Oct 6 / Dave Raybould

Find A Snowboard Instructor Job

i hate this job
Don’t be this guy

Finding a job as a Snowboard Instructor is a difficult task, believe me. I’ve searched for jobs all over the world. It’s especially hard if you are planning on travelling to another country.

There’s a lot of stuff to consider:

  • Flights
  • Tansfers
  • Housing
  • Visas
  • Resumes
  • Letters of recommendation
  • References

If you don’t sort it out soon, you might end up standing on the street holding a billboard like the guy above!

This article will show you specifically what to look out for, based upon my experiences. Look at it as your short cut.

Research

The first thing that you should do is plenty of research.

This involves not only researching where you want to work, but also who you want to work for. The internet makes this task incredibly easy (if your a geek like me).

I tend to pick a country I want to travel to, and then speak to other instructors to find out where’s good to go. If you don’t have instructor friends, you can always visit Snowboard websites. After a few years working as an instructor, you will generally hear about a lot of cool places in the world to go. I have a long list.

A few good websites:

Once you have an idea of which resort you would like to go to, visit the resort website and check out what they have to offer. Remember this is a two way thing, a lot of resorts suck to work for. Not going to name any names, except Falls Creek, Australia.

You could also get in contact with other instructors that have worked around the world. They will be able to give you an insight into what a resort is like to work for.

Important quesions when choosing a resort/employer/slope

  • Where is it located (ie which country, which mountain, close to a town/city, far away from any towns/cities)?
  • Do you need a visa?
  • Do you need to speak another language?
  • What qualifications will you need?
  • How much experience will you need?
  • How will you get there?
  • How will you get to work each day?
  • Where will you live?

Mountain resorts

  • What is the elevation of the resort?
  • Is it a destination resort (where people go for a week or more) or just busy at peak periods (weekends and holidays)?
  • How long is the season? When does it start and end?
  • How much vertical drop do they have?
  • How much skiable area is there?
  • What type of runs do they have? ie, percentage of green, blue, black
  • How much average snowfall do they get?
  • How many lifts are there and what types do they have?
  • How do they cope if it doesn’t snow much (snowmaking capability)?
  • Do they have a terrain park and pipe? if so, how good is it and how good is it’s lift system?
  • How many people work in the ski school?
  • What is the ratio of snowboarders to skiiers?
  • What is the ski school like to work for?
  • How does the pay structure compare to other mountains and what benefits do they offer?
  • Do they provide accommodation? if so, where is it located in relation to the resort?

Indoor or dryslope

  • What type of surface do they use? Dendrex, Permasnow, Snowflex, man-made snow?
  • How many instructors do they employ?
  • What type of freestyle nights do they offer? Limited space to slide on gets boring quick!
  • What is the pay like?
  • What other benefits do they offer?

How to find all this info

You may need to contact the employer to find out some of this information, some will be available on their website.

It’s well worth taking the time to do this.

Remember, you will be working for this employer for up to 6 months, the experience is massively dependent on the employer.

Northstar-at-tahoe is by far the best employer I have worked for.

What’s Next?

Struggling to think of where in the world to go? Read Where In The World to find out about the best part of being a Snowboard Instructor, travelling the world.

This is part of the Find a Snowboard Instructor Job 101.

About the author: David Raybould is a Snowboard Instructor and Writer. You can connect with him on Twitter or Facebook.

Related posts:

  1. The Basics You Should Know First
  2. Find Work in Argentina as a Snowboard Instructor
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